Newcastle Science Central computer school plan unveiled

An artist's impression of the proposed School of Computing Science has been released

Plans for an "urban sciences" building on the site of a former brewery in Newcastle have been unveiled.

The £58m facility will house the university's School of Computing Science, with 1,500 staff and students.

It is the latest addition to the £250m Science Central project - a partnership between academia, the public sector, business and industry.

The site, a former colliery, was the home of Newcastle Brown Ale, until production moved to Gateshead in 2005.

Professor John Fitzgerald, a lead member of the university's Science Central team, said: "This is a significant step in the design and development of the Urban Sciences Building and gives us an opportunity to make the plans more widely available to staff, students, our key partners in business and industry and the public.

"The vision for the Science Central site is urban sustainability underpinned by digital technology and the School of Computing Science will be central to that plan."